Flushing nozzle



Oct. 2, 1951 E. J. TERRY ETAL 2,569,588

FLUSHING NOZZLE Filed Nov. 27, 1944 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 .ZIOWJHO'J R1313 INVENTORS Gordon 12.114? Coz zu'ak ATTORNEY E. J. TERRY ET AL FLUSHING NOZZLE Oct. 2, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 2'7, 1944 INVENITORS Gordon R-MC01mick fidwal'd J. Teeny ATTORIWZY Patented Oct. 2, 1951 UNITED srar 2,569,588 6 F F I C E FLUSHING NOZZLE Application November 27, 1944, Serial No. 565,344

This invention relates to devices for spraying liquids, and especially to a new nozzle arrangement which is especially adapted for cleaning and flushing enclosures, such as barrels, tanks and the like.

The invention will be described with reference to the cleaning of metal drums which are used for storing and shipping liquids, such as chemicals and paint, but it is to be understood that the devices embodying the invention are useful with other kinds of apparatus and for other purposes.

Shipping drums are frequently returned to the manufacturer or supplier time after time for refilling. The cleaning of the inside of such containers has heretofore presented a serious problem in that the containers are variously sized, elongated and irregularly shaped and it is difficult to remove the unwanted material completely. Various kinds of nozzles and other devices have been used heretofore for this purpose, such as spray type nozzles, but such nozzles alone do not give entirely satisfactory results. Difliculty has also been encountered in that the bottom parts of the containers are not satisfactorily cleaned.

It has been found that satisfactory cleaning of the interior walls of enclosures can be accomplished by a type of nozzle hereinafter to be more particularly described whereby the cleaning liquid is caused to be directed. against the interior Walls in jets or sheets and into particular areas of the inner walls. Means are additionally provided for effectively ridding the container of used cleaning fluid, thereby maintaining exposure of the lower lying or drainage areas of the container to the direct action of the fluid issuing from the nozzle.

The invention and the manner of putting it into practice will be more particularly described with reference to the drawings constituting a part hereof in which:

Figure 1 is a partial cross-sectional view of the novel nozzle in position for cleaning.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the nozzle shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an end View of the nozzle shown in Figure 1.

Figures 4, 5 and 6 are end views showing various modifications of the nozzle.

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of still another modification of the nozzle, and

Figure 8 shows a device for rotating the nozzle.

Referring to Figure 1 the cleaning device, comprising the nozzle having a main tubular body I, a flexible connection generally indicated by the numeral 2 for permitting axial rotation of the nozzle through an angle and a supply pipe 3 for supplying washing'fluid under pressure, is shown in position for cleaning a container,

3 Claims. (Cl. 299-121) such as the barrel 4, only a fragment of which is shown in Figure 1. The container 4 is mounted for cleaning so that the nozzle projects through the bung hole 5 or other opening in the container through which drainage space is provided around the outside of the nozzle. In cleaning containers which have only one opening, or openings too small to rid them of washing fluid as fast as it enters, air under pressure is forced into the enclosure through the pipe 6 for ridding the container of the washings as fast as the washing fluid is introduced into the barrel through the nozzle. Where the container contains other openings, they are preferably closed in order to create a pressure in the enclosure with a minimum of air supply.

The nozzle comprises the tubular body I which is mounted on the end of the fluid supply systern for supplying cleaning fluid under pressure. At the outer terminus of the nozzle an arcuate band 8 extends over the opening, forming opposite rounded openings for the eiilux of fluid. At the point of attachment to the tubular body I of the nozzle, the band 8 is relatively broad so that at the points of attachment the two equal oppositely disposed curved walls extend around the circumference of the tube I at the end. The band 8 is cut away obliquely to the axis of the tube I on opposite sides of the band so as to form a narrow obstruction at the outer end. The oblique angular disposition of the plane of these cuts will vary accordingly as a wider or narrower obstruction '9 is desired at the outer portion of the band.

Within the arcuate band 8 a plate It is mounted, as by welding. The plate Ifl has a short tubular member II which extends through the plate downwardly into the tubular body I. The tubular member I I is mounted axially with respect to the main body I and is proportioned to provide an annular passage between the outer wall of the tube II and the inner wall of the main body I for conducting fluid to the lower terminal ports underneath the plate Ill. The tubular member II conducts fluid through the plate to the upper terminal ports of the nozzle. The ends of the plate Ill preferably extend through the opening beneath the arcuate band 8 a suflicient distance to form a baffle plate for the fluid which is forced through the concentric passage I2, and it is desirably as long as the transverse bore of the main tubular body I although the plate may be made considerably longer.

At the outer end of the nozzle the terminal portion of the band or portion 8 constitutes a baffle for the liquid jet which issues through the passage I3 in the tubular member I I. The portion 9 (Figs. 1 and '7) of the band 8 is formed so that a portion of the jet from the passage I 3 proceeds without being interrupted by the band 8. Preferably this action is accomplished by cutting away the band 8 so that the terminal portion 9 is narrower than the diameter of the bore 13 as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, but other means may be used to accomplish this purpose. For example, the terminal portion 9 of the band 8 may also be cut away to form a slot It; for permitting an uninterrupted passage of a part of the fluid issuing through the bore 13 as shown in Figure 4, or the uninterrupted part of the jet may be provided merely by a slot I 6 when the portion 9 of the band is equal to or greater in width than the diameter of the bore 13 as shown in Figure 53' Alternatively the narrow portion 9 of the band 8 may be provided with one or more openings I? as by drilling as shown in Figure 6. Still another means of projecting a part of the fluid along the axis of the nozzle is shown in Figure '7 wherein the bore [3 is enlarged at its outer end so that its diameter is greater than the width of portion 9 of the band 8. The plate Ill and tubular member ll may be made as an integral part as shown in Figure '7 or the plate and tube H may be secured together as by threading as illustrated in Figure 1.

One convenient manner of constructing the nozzle is to cut away the opposite arms of a pipe-T so as to form a symmetrical blunt edged wedge and inclining the convergent surfaces of the wedge so that the lowermost portions of the two arms will be removed as far as the wall of the tubular portion I so that the groundofi" rim of the tubular wall I will form a part of the rims of the ports, and so that the outer portions of the horizontal arms of the T are removed to form the narrowing band 8. This will provide oppositely directed ports having rounded openings, the plane of their marginal walls converging upwardly to a line in the axis of the nozzle, as shown in Figure l, but other shapes of outwardly-directed rounded ports may be provided.

The nozzle is mounted on a flexible coupling which may be of any construction which will permit rotation of the nozzle back and forth axially of the tube portion I, through an angle preferably of about 90. A desirable form of coupling comprises a tubular ball and socket arrangement comprising the tubular ball member which is connected to the washing fluid in-comer pipe 3. The tube I of the nozzle is mounted on the other end of the connector through the nipple 3|, which in operative position projects through the opening 5 of the container to be cleaned. The socket member of the connector comprises upper and lower gland members 32 which are accurately fitted to the outer surface of the tubular ball member 30 so that they will turn thereon. The glands 32 are held on the ball 30 by the members 33 and 35 of a union, the upper member of which carries the nipple 3i and the lower member 3 1 is a nut member. Assurance from leakage of cleaning fluid is provided by the upper and lower packings 35.

In the cleaning of a container the nozzle may be held in a stationary position, but somewhat better results are obtained in diflicult cleaning operations when the nozzle is rotated through an angle. The angle of rotation may desirably be about 90 so that substantially all parts of the inner surface of the container will be subjected to jets of cleaning fluid initially issuing from the nozzle.

Any form of actuating device can be used for rotating the nozzle. A simple form of suitable device is shown by way of illustration in Figure 8 wherein a wheel 40 is driven through the shaft 4! which is connected in turn to a source of power, such as an electric motor. The crank 42 is journaled at one end on the stub shaft 43 which is mounted on the rotatable wheel 30 and at the other end is journaled on the stub shaft 44 which is mounted on the upper member 33 of the union. Upon rotation of the wheel 40 the disc 45 is caused to rotate through an angle of thereby rotating the nozzle back and forth axially. Other devices for axially rotating the nozzle back and forth can be used.

Repeated rotation through an angle of about 90 is desirable but rotation of more or less than 90 can be used. If desired, the nozzle may be driven continuously in one direction, but a reciprocating movement through an angle of about 90 is all that is necessary during the washing operation.

In operation the washing fluid is supplied under pressure through the supply pipe 3 at P a pressure such that the jets of fluid issuing from the nozzle will impinge directly and with force on the inner walls of the container. The fluid passing through the annular passage l2 impinges on the plate It] and passes out of the lower ports 20 downwardly and obliquely. The somewhat segmental form or D-shape of the lower ports 20 cause the jets to spread out from the nozzle somewhat as a sheet of liquid, the surfaces of which are straight to upwardly concave depending upon the pressure of the fluid supplied to the nozzle. These lower jets impinge upon the lower surfaces of the enclosure and upon suitable rotation of the nozzle all of the lower surfaces of the enclosure are subjected to the direct action of these jets.

A part of the fluid supplied to the passage l3 passes beyond the terminal portion 9 of the band 8, and a part impinges thereon. This action together with the somewhat D-shaped upper ports 20 permit strong unobstructed jets of fluid to impinge on the upper surfaces of the enclosure. The jets which pass around or through the terminal portion 9 of the band 8 are sufliciently close together to spread out and provide adequate washing in an area in line with the axis of the jet. The washing action in such an area can be intensified somewhat by a slot or' opening in the narrow part of the band 8 as illustrated in Figure 4. The D-shaped upper ports cause the rest of the fluid to disperse upwardly and outwardly in strong jets. Upon rotating the drum or the nozzle these jets impinge on those parts of the inner surfaces of the container which are not subjected to the fluid issuing around or through the portion 9 of the band 8 or issuing through the lower ports of the nozzle.

In the operation of cleaning, any action whereby the drum and nozzle are rotated with respect to each other may be employed. Thus the drum may be turned so as to subject all parts of the inner surface to the direct action of the jets issuing from the nozzle whilst the nozzle is held stationary, or both the container and the nozzle may be turned or tilted in various directions for accomplishing this purpose.

In the cleaning of containers having open ends, the containers may be disposed over the nozzle so that satisfactory drainage of the washings takes place through the open end, but in the cleaning of containers such as metal drums with closed ends the washings must be drained through a bung hole, as indicated in Figure 1. For the satisfactory cleaning of enclosures the jets of cleaning fluid must impinge on the surface to be cleaned with considerable force in order to take advantage of mechanically removing deposits as well as to take advantage of the solvent action of the cleaning fluid. An excess of cleaning fluid over that necessary for dissolving deposits also has to be introduced for flushing away material removed from the surfaces. Drainage by gravity has been found to be insufficient and unsatisfactory in cleaning enclosures with closed ends, in that the washings accumulate in the lower parts of the containers. The washings attain a depth such that the submerged surfaces of the containers are not cleaned and the removal of the washings is insufiicient. The accumulation of the washings is aggravated in cleaning containers having only one opening, such as a bung hole, by exhaustion of air from the container which is caused by entrainment of the air in the run-off.

Complete drainage of washings from the lower parts of the container is essential in order to attain effective washing of its lower surfaces and to prevent an accumulation of washings in the container which results from removal of air by entrainment in the drained off washings. This is attained in accordance with the present invention by introducing air under pressure to the space in the container and closing all venting openings except the downwardly facing egress port. As shown in Figure 1 the nozzle is inserted through the downwardly facing bung hole 5 and the space around the nozzle constitutes the egress port. Air is then supplied under pressure to the enclosure through the pipe 6, such as a pressure of pounds per square inch, and the pipe 6 is passed through the port. The washing fluid is injected at relatively high pressure such as 40 to 70 pounds per square inch, and con-' sequently in large volume in order to effect the cleaning. Whenever there is an accumulation of washings in the lower part of the container, a pressure of air is consequently built up in the enclosure. This pressure forces the washings through the egress port in quantity greater than that attained by gravity drainage. The longer the existence of inadequate drainage, the higher will be the pressure of air in the enclosure and the greater will be the rate of discharge of washings until complete drainage is efiected, the air pressure is relieved by ejection of air through the egress port and the system comes to equilibrium. The accumulation of washings in the container will also occur by reason of the entrainment of air in the drained liquid where the drainage port is not far in excess of that required for normal drainage, unless air is supplied to the enclosure. Such an excessively large drainage port does not exist where the openings in the containers consist only of bung holes. Where the container has more than one such restricted opening, all are closed except the downwardly faced opening. The air may be supplied at any pressure above atmospheric and lower than the pressure of the liquid supply.

As shown in Figure 1, the air supply pipe 6 extends through the opening 5, and desirably to a point near but underneath the ports of the nozzle, but extensions of different lengths may be used provided they do not interfere materially with the ingress or egress of the washing fluid. The pipe 6 is desirably located parallel with and as near as possible to the the nozzle so that ample space is provided for the egress of washings. The air pipe 6 may desirably be held in position by an independent stationary support (not shown) and it is connected to a suitable air supply reservoir or pump.

From the foregoing disclosure it will be recognized that the invention is susceptible of modification without departing from the spirit and scope thereof and it i to be understood that the invention is not restricted to the specific illustrations thereof herein set forth.

We claim:

1. In a device of the kind described which comprises a nozzle having a main tubular portion for receiving fluid under pressure from a fluid delivery pipe, a curved band disposed across and spaced from the open outer end of said tube for forming lateral port between the band and the terminal rim of the tube, a baffle plate mounted within said band and spaced from the rim of the tube for forming upper and lower ports, said bafiie plate having an opening centered in the axis of the tube, a tubular member mounted in the opening of said plate and extending into the tubular portion of the nozzle for forming a central passage between the upper ports and said main tubular portion, said tubular member being spaced from the inner wall of said main tube for forming an annular passage between its outer wall and the inner surface of said main tubular portion which communicates with the lower terminal ports of the nozzle, the outer end of said annular passage terminating at said bafiie plate and with said lower terminal ports underneath said plate, said plate extending laterally for obstructing the passage of fluid from said annular passage to said upper ports.

2. A device in accordance with claim 1 in which the bafiie plate is square and its sides are equal to the diameter of the main supply tube.

3. A device in accordance with claim 1 in which the outer end of the curved band is narrower than the diameter of the passage through the baflle plate for permitting a portion of the fluid to pass upwardly past the edges of the band.

EDWARD J. TERRY. GORDON R. MCCORMICK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 103,371 Reynolds May 24, 1870 594,554 Powers et a1 Nov. 30, 1897 1,273,200 Symonds July 23, 1918 1,288,123 Mowry Dec. 17, 1918 1,294,909 Howell Feb. 18, 1919 1,592,452 Ferris et al July 13, 1926 1,674,480 Nelson June 19, 1928 1,877,046 Phillips Sept. 13, 1932 1,880,272 Panther, Jr Oct. 4, 1932 2,005,600 Tappen June 18, 1935 2,174,311 Born Sept. 26, 1939 2,285,831 Pennypacker June 9, 1942 2,321,885 Allen June 15, 1943 2,335,604 Ohlinger Nov. 30, 1943 2,375,528 De Flon May 8, 1945 2,494,067 Snowden et a1. Jan. 10, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 537 Great Britain Jan. 13, 1915 492,731 France July 17, 1919 

